


It's Not An Infection

by Shade_Penn1



Series: Croft and Son [5]
Category: Devil May Cry, Tomb Raider (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Demonic Puberty, Gen, Light Angst, Mother-Son Relationship, also because of Nero, because Nero's a teenager now, because it's more or less how the devil bringer can be viewed here, minor language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-05
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2020-01-05 00:05:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18354491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shade_Penn1/pseuds/Shade_Penn1
Summary: Nero's arm breaks, but it's not the healing which has Lara getting worried.





	It's Not An Infection

Lara's breath caught, and she leaned over the bed, fingers brushing Nero's hair as his face scrunched, blinking slowly. "Hello, sweetheart. How are you feeling?"

Nero's nose wrinkled. "Can't...feel my...arm. Real tired." he said, a slurring in his voice. He blinked again, and glanced down. His eyes widened once he caught sight of his cast. "Wha...oh." It seemed the event which led to his arm breaking caused him to wince.

Lara rested her forehead against his, relief washing through her. She was sure her heart had stopped for a few moments when she got a call from the hospital, telling her Nero had been admitted for a broken arm and fractured shoulder. ' _The one time he gets invited to something and this happens._ ' she thought. She regretted letting him attend his classmate's birthday.

"'M fine." Nero mumbled.

Lara laughed, though it was choked and grating. "That's the sedative talking. You'll start feeling worse once it wears off."

Nero frowned, but then he seemed lucid enough to be nervous. "Don't be mad." he whispered. "It was my own fault. I wasn't paying attention to what the instructor said, and I..." he trailed off, because the rest was obvious. He was the hospital after all.

Lara had every intention of giving those who should have been watching the kids a piece of her mind, but Sam wouldn't let her leave Nero's side. It gave her time to cool down, or she would have definitely caused some scene for the newspapers. "The doctor said I could take you home once the sedative wore off."

Nero nodded, and tried to smile but it came out like a grimace. "As least it was my right arm, huh? Didn't mess up my writing hand."

Lara let out a short huff. She shook her head. "Don't joke about that. Here I am worried you're going to get hurt riding around on those skateboards or during football practice, and you somehow end up at a recreational center with a rock climbing wall of all things."

Nero snorted. "I like taking risks."

"Clearly." Lara said, eyeing the cast. Her heart only now stop beating like it wanted to jump out of her ribcage. She'd have wondered where he got this wildness from, but the answer was all too obvious. ' _Like mother, like son._ '

"So..." Nero began, tilting his head. "Now that the mushiness is out of the way, do I still have to go to school?"

Lara rolled her eyes. Nero was thirteen now, but he could still act childish sometimes. "You said it yourself, your dominant hand is okay." she paused, and ruffled his hair. "Although, I don't see why you can't stay home until we're certain there is no adverse effects from the sedative."

Nero beamed at her.

* * *

The weather was a bit stifling, and Lara wiped her brow as the video chat turned on. She glanced back out her tent at the crew settling down for the night. Lara smiled at Nero on the other side of call. "Hello, Nero, how is your arm doing?"

Nero rubbed his shoulder, but stopped himself. "It's doing...okay." he mumbled. "Doesn't hurt anymore."

"Sam?" Lara called, and the woman appeared from the corner of the screen. "Did the doctor say anything." Nero slumped in his chair.

"Said there was a bit discoloration on the area surrounding the part where the cast stopped, but that it was likely cause by the fall he took. Some bruises can take time to form." she replied. "The cast should be ready to come off in about another three weeks, maybe two at the most."

Lara smiled. Nero always did heal a bit faster. "That's good to hear. I should be back by then, and we can all go out to celebrate."

Nero hesitated, before smiling back at her. "Y-yeah, sounds great."

* * *

The harsh glow of her buzzing phone pulled Lara from her sleep. She rubbed her eyes and blinked, before wincing at the light. ' _This better be important_.' she thought, but she was on alert once she saw Sam's name. "What happened?"

" _It's Nero - ah, what I mean is, he's acting kinda...weird."_

Lara furrowed her brow, sitting up in her cot. She wasn't sure if she should be woried or not. "Weird, how? Did he get the cast off already?"

" _No, the cast is still there, but...I caught him earlier trying to cancel the appointment."_

Lara's back straightened. That _was_ worrying. "Did you ask why?"

Sam huffed. " _Of course I did, but he got so edgy about it. And it wasn't just that, last night he was checking his shoulder, and he freaked when I asked how it was. Totally ignored me the rest of the night and went to bed early._ "

"Perhaps he's self-conscious. I'll talk to him on our chat tomorrow."

_"Great. Maybe he'll talk to you about what's wrong."_

* * *

Nero seemed... _off_. Lara wasn't immediately sure what the exact problem was, but he was hunched in a baggy hoodie. "Hi." he murmured.

Lara had to assume it was puberty. At least until she could be sure. "How is your arm?"

Nero's eyes widened a fraction, before he shrank tight in on himself. "It's fine." he muttered.

"Are you sure? Sam told me you were cagey about it, and that you tried to cancel the appointment to have the cast removed." Lara replied.

Nero scowled. "Of course Sam told you." he huffed. "It was nothing, I was just trying to order take-out."

' _Take-out, really?_ ' Lara thought, knitting her brows. "Are you sure? You're not feeling...any other effects from the fall? I know that it must not have been easy - "

"Mom, I'm fine!" Nero snapped. His eyes blazed blue, before his whole face dimmed and he clutched his arm. "I'm sorry. I-I have to go, I just remembered I needed to finish an assingment."

"Nero?" Lara called, worried. "I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong." she said. Nero reached for disconnect button. "Nero!"

Her son stiffened, before he glanced at his arm. "I really have to go."

Lara's stomach sank as the video chat was closed. She exhaled deeply, rubbing her hands over her face. She's been lost and unsure of how to be a parent, but nothing prepared her for a moody teenager.

Especially since she was sure puberty had nothing to do with it.

* * *

Being back home, after a long expedition, was a relief. Or would have been, if worry wasn't gnawing at her every time she thought about Nero. He'd refused to speak to her over a chat, or email her, and Sam couldn't even get him on the phone with her. Lara almost broke every speeding law to get back to the mansion.

She glanced around the foyer, wiping her brow. Footsteps rushed down the hall, and Sam came sprinting up. "What's wrong?" she asked immediately.

"After you called to say you were coming home, I thought telling Nero would help." Sam said, and bit her lip. "Instead he's been locked up in your study and won't come out. I tried to find the skeleton and room key, but he must have taken those too."

Lara's muscles ached and she was tired after such long flight, but it all paled in comparison to this moment. What was happening? Her resolve hardened. "I'll handle it. I know another way in."

Sam exhaled, relieved. "Just don't tell me you're going to scale the wall."

Lara decided not to. Instead, she reaffirmed an assurance, and hurried back out the door. She found the spot closest to the window to her study, marking the path to it. Breathing in deeply, Lara set her foot on the alcove, and lifted herself up to grab the ledge over the first story window. Her arms strained to reach.

She wasn't a young girl anymore, and so the ledges were a bit more precarious than exploring the roofs and scaling walls as a child. At least with the experience she had climbing cliffs, she would hopefully not fall and break something of her own.

The bricks and cement under her hands and boots was firm, familiar as she made her way along the ledge. She kept her eye on the window getting closer, glancing down to the pathway there. Lara avoided glancing any further down than the ledge. It was windy, and she shook her head, sending the flyaway strands of hair from her face, and leaned to the window latch.

It clicked, and Lara exhaled once she was inside. She paused when she found that her study was the same as she left it. Where was Nero? From the corner of her eye, Lara's eyes widened when she spotted the casting shredded and the letter opener lying beside it. And...were those scales?

Lara knelt beside the remains, and picked one of them up. It was a deep red, textured almost like a lizards. ' _Is...Nero hiding a pet? Is that why he's so moody lately?_ ' Beneath the scales and casting, she found five deep scratches. ' _Claw marks?_ ' Was Nero's pet loose? The rustling from the library section caused Lara to turn, and she glimpsed the flash of white pulling deeper behind the book cases. "Nero, sweetheart, please, come out?"

Her son didn't respond right away, but when he did, his voice cracked. "No, just leave, Mom. I don't want you to see."

Lara's brow furrowed, but she realized that whatever caused the scales and markings, wasn't a pet. "Nero, I'm not mad, or upset. Please, just tell me what's going on." she spotted her son through an opening between books, head low as he moved back.

"Y-you'll _get_ mad though. And you'll think I'm a freak!" Nero's voice shook, thick with emotion.

Lara's insides twisted. She came to the edge of the book case, and her foot kicked an open book. It was a medical text, as were the others on the floor. More than that, she saw not only her journals from the Yamatai incident, but also notes and journals she'd taken from the lab underneath Fortuna.

Lara's gaze finally settled on Nero, and she wondered why he was looking for information about demons. "Nero?"

Her son huddled in the corner, right arm pulled almost behind his back, face paler than usual and eyes wide with fear. He pulled his right sleeve down, over his arm further. "No, don't come any closer. You shouldn't be here."

"This is my study." Lara said.

Nero winced. "You can't see me like this, I-I'm a freak!"

Lara ignored the warning, and stepped closer. If he could, Nero would have looked ready to be swallowed up by the wall. "Nero, please, tell me what's wrong. I'm your mother, and I know I haven't always been -"

Nero's eyes squeezed shut. "Something happened to my arm!" he shouted, and Lara went silent. Nero's chest heaved with his heavy breathing, face scrunching. "Th-that discoloration the doctor thought were bruises? ...They weren't. I thought maybe it-it was an infection, got messed up somehow. N-no one can see it, or-or they'll think there's something wrong with me, with you! That you gave birth to a monster."

Lara stared at him, unsure of what to make of what he was saying. She glanced at the books strewn on the floor again. "Is this why you've been this way? Nero, I'm sure whatever's wrong we can get through it."

Nero's eyes blazed again, and he thrust his right arm out. "And you think _this_ is something I can just get through?!"

Lara was rendered silent as she stared at her son's arm. The hand was covered in the dark red textured scales like the ones on the floor, ending in sharp claws on his fingers. Lines of faint glowing light veined through it, and Lara could guess it went all along the arm from the bumps in his sleeve . It was...certainly a shock, no denying that, but Lara had seen and experienced things just as shocking.

Before whatever bravado Nero put up fell, Lara closed the space between them. She wrapped her arms around him and held him in a tight embrace. He froze completely, eyes wide and shocked. It didn't take long for Nero to start struggling, fear and uncertainty so visible on his face it made Lara's heart ache.

Not because he was scared of her, but because he was scared of her _reaction_.

Lara leaned down, resting her chin on the top of his head. "It's okay," she whispered, "no matter what's happening, I'll make sure everything's okay."

Nero shook, and something he'd deny being a sob rippled through him. "How can you say that? How can you know?" his voice dropped. "How can you not think I'm a demon when my arm looks like something out of hell itself."

Lara carefully considered her response. One wrong thing and her son could close off completely. She took a breath to steady herself, and lifted her hands to rest gently on Nero's shoulders, staring him straight in the eye. "One; don't swear like that again."

Nero managed to snort. "Like every kid at my school doesn't get away with calling me a bastard."

Lara gave him a stern look. " _Second_ ;you are not a monster. Get that idea out of your head." Nero's brow knitted, and Lara added, "Besides, if this reaction came about so unexpectedly, it must be something in your blood. And last I checked, I'm still your mother."

Her son stiffened, eyes hard. "You could never be a monster."

Lara knew several dead people who might disagree with that. "I'm so glad to hear you say that." she said it dryly, but deep down, it was an immense relief. She pointedly placed her hand on Nero's demonic arm, before grabbing his hand. He tensed up, but eased and relaxed just a little. "I'll do whatever I can to help you."

Nero appeared nervous, gaze flickering around before he said, "I think...I think we need to find out about my father."

Lara nodded. "Yes, I still have my contact on call. I don't know what answers we'll get, but I can say this," she paused for effect, and Nero furrowed his brow, "at least you're not ill; you _are_ a monster when that happens."

Nero stared at her, eyes wide. A beat too long, and Lara wondered if she stepped over a line. Then Nero gently squeezed her hand, and his lips twitched before he burst out laughing. "That was terrible. You're not very good at making jokes."

Lara's shoulders relaxed, relief sweeping through her. "Then I'll leave the jokes to you and Sam." She tugged Nero with her out from behind the book case, and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. She didn't miss how Nero tensed at the mention of Sam. "If you think Sam is going to reject you just because your arm, ah, is a bit different now - clearly you think she's made of more fragile stuff."

Nero was silent a moment again, before wrapping his arm back around her. "I hope she can accept me still."

Lara patted his shoulder. "I'm sure she will. You'll just need to apologize for worrying her." She gestured to the casting. "Now explain that. Why take it off early?"

Nero winced. "I realized whatever this arm is caused my break to heal faster, and I kinda needed to see how much changed. The scales just kinda fell off. Didn't really help in not freaking me out more."

Lara nodded. She'd clean it up later, do a lot later. She was no illusion that things were different now. Perhaps not in ways that matter - she, for one, would never think badly of her son - but answers were needed, and then Nero could learn to deal with this in his own time.

And Lara would be there with him every step of the way.


End file.
